Day 216: Icefield Parkway

So obviously Jasper and Jasper National Park partially burned down and the road to the park is closed. It’s a downer because there’s lots of cool things to see along the way. We opted to drive as much of the road up as we could to enjoy the Icefield Parkway.

Icefield Parkway received its name from the numerous glaciers that are visible along the highway. These glaciers melt into blue and green lakes below and offer accessible hikes/sites for those with little mobility.

We started at Peyto Lake which offers a stunning view of Mt Patterson Glacier. Next, we visited Upper and Lower Waterfowl Lakes where little rivers offer opportunities for rafting and swimming. Our final stop was Mistaya Canyon which is cut from the same water supplied by Peyto Lake and Glacier!! This was some serious white water and cliff carving.

There was no more vacancy at the Johnston Canyon Lodge site we moved Susan and Andy into downtown Banff. The hotel had a huge hot tub which was perfect for many days of hiking and nature. We grabbed dinner downtown and returned back to hot tub it up; after, made the cold drive back to our campsite in Johnston Canyon.

Spots:
Bow Lake
Peyto Lake
Waterfowl Lakes
Mistaya CanyonRead more